With the death toll from the flash floods in Istanbul and its environs rising to 32, authorities launched a massive rescue and clean-up operation as they braced for a new front of heavy rain to hit large parts of the country.

Tragic stories came out of the hunt for the eight people reported missing in the floods that left many stranded in apartments and some in trees and on car roofs.

The latest body to be recovered was of a man whose wife and three daughters were also killed when the deluge swept through their farm Tuesday in the province of Tekirdag, to the west of Istanbul, the Anatolia news agency said.

At least 26 of the dead were in Istanbul, a metropolis of more than 12 million people where mass immigration has led to a rapid growth with poor planning and inadequate structure.

As the press pointed an accusing finger at authorities, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former mayor of Istanbul whose party controls the city, promised to strengthen river banks when he visited the disaster area Wednesday.

"If we build buildings on riverbeds, if we extend this type of construction, let's not forget that... the river's revenge can be terrible," Erdogan said.

Transport Minister Binali Yildirim conceded that "sub-standard practices" in the urbanisation of Istanbul were partly to blame for the tragedy.

Main opposition leader Deniz Baykal on Thursday called for the resignation of Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas who drew widespread ire when he blamed on the disaster on climate change.

"We cannot see this just as a natural disaster. It is a a disaster of city planning. The politicians responsible must pay," he said.

Newspapers highlighted the fact that a large number of buildings permits were issued for construction near rivers, and accused city officials of ignoring warnings of major storms made by meteorological experts.

The meteorology services issued a fresh flood alert Thursday, warning that heavy rain was expected in the northwest, west, south and north of the country Friday and Saturday.

Several districts in Istanbul's Asian quarters said they had set up crisis centres and shelters in preparation of possible floods at the weekend, Anatolia said.

In the disaster area, authorities were cleaning up the devastation left behind by the receeding waters, using earth-moving machines to remove debris from a truck park in Basaksehir where 13 bodies were recovered a day before.

Survivors said the drivers were asleep in their trucks when a five metre (16 feet) high flash flood hit early Wednesday, giving them little chance to escape, Anatolia reported.

Television images showed mechanical diggers and cranes removing the wreckage of trucks toppled on their sides or piled on top of each other amid a thick layer of mud.

Seven women drowned in neighbouring Halkali district, swept away as they tried to escape their minibus taking them to work at a textile factory.

Many roads remained cut off, many under two metres (six feet) of mud and water. The main highway to Istanbul airport, where dozens of motorists were stranded a day before, was only partially opened after hours of clean-up.

Army helicopters and inflatable dinghies had to be brought in on Wednesday to rescue the motorists who clambered on to the roofs of their stalled vehicles or trees to escape the flooding.

Insurers have estimated that the damage in Istanbul could reach upto 150 million dollars (103 million euros).

burs-han/har

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